Knox animal shelter changes name to honor Lyman Pope

Thank you to all the volunteers and friends of the shelter who attended the annual Volunteer and Community Appreciation dinner. Taking care of an ever-increasing number of animals each year, more than 1,200 so far this year, takes a community and we are grateful for the wonderful group of volunteers who logged an impressive 11,000 plus hours, making what we do possible. The following volunteers were recognized for their outstanding volunteer service to the shelter and its mission: Peg Jones, Jackie Freitas, Paul O'Conner, Linda Athearn, Wayne Knight, Craig Mathieson and Kath Holland. The Outstanding Community Service Award was awarded to FMC BioPolymer in recognition of the contributions it made to the shelter during their community service days.

During the nights festivities, Board President Warner Vaughan was pleased to introduce a very special guest and friend of the shelter, Lyman Pope, of the Lyman Pope Jr. Foundation, a foundation solely focused on supporting animal shelters in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. Pope has been directly involved with our shelter for more than a decade, generously providing grant money to improve the lives of our shelter animals with new fencing, medical test kits to better serve our dogs, professionally-painted dog kennel area, special food for special needs animals and the like. Because of his tireless efforts and advocacy for shelter animals both locally and regionally and his willingness to work with us so that we can achieve our vision of the future, we are excited to announce that we will now proudly be known as the Pope Memorial Humane Society of Knox County.

Thank you to Michael and Tina Fairfield of Rite Way Cleaning in Waldoboro for their very generous donation of $770, the proceeds of a month-long cleaning promotion to benefit the shelter. This is their second annual promotion to benefit the shelter and we are very grateful for their wonderful support. We encourage you to support Rite Way Cleaning and other businesses who support the shelter.

Our pet pick of the week is Madora, a 3-month-old Labrador/pit mix puppy. This darling little gal is currently enrolled in our K-9 Corrections program at Bolduc Correctional Facility where she is paired with an inmate handler who is teaching her basic manners. Madora will make a wonderful companion. If you are interested in Madora, please call the shelter at 594-2200 to learn more.